Take-up reel for wire-fence machines



J. A. HOLM'QUIST. TAKE-UP REEL FOR WI'RE FENCE MACHINES APPLICATION FILED MAR-22, I920.

Patented May 24,1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- WITNESSES INVENTOR J. A. HOLMQU-IST.

TAKE-UP REEL FOR WIRE FENCE MACHINES APPLICATION FILED MAR.22, 1920.

1,378,956. Patented May 24, 1921.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

v mvnnon & pfgva w NI E STATES FA E Nr OFFICE.

JOHN a. HoLMQUrsrr, or wooDLAwN, PENNSYLVANIA,

TAKE-UP REEL iron WIRETFENCE MACHINES.

Application filed Mai-c1122, 1920. seriaino. 367,705.

To all whom it may 00mm;

. Be it known that I,JLOHNQA.I'IOLMQUIST, residlng at Woodlawn, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the Uni-tedStates, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Take-Up Reels for VVire-Fenee Machines, of which improvementsthe following is a specification. v My invention relates to: improvements in wire-fence machines; and, 'while intheaccompanying drawings I show it applied to a machine of the Denning type (see Denning Patent No.-816,538, and also my companion application, Serial No. 367,70l), it willbe understood that the inventionis applicable.

machine havingmy inventionapplied to it;

Fig. II is a view in plan and to larger scale of the reel .of the machine of Fig. Lin which reel as I have said my invention is found; Fig. III isa view intransversesection of the structure shown in Fig. lhthe alaneof section being indicated by {the line III- -III, Fig. II; andFig. IVis a view in end eleva tion (the right-hand end',Fig. II). From Fig. IV the guidesrollerand its supports are,

for the sake of simplicitvgof showing, omitted.

- It is characteristic of the Denning machine that in its operation stranduv re feed and stay-wire feed are cont nuous, and the fence forming instrumentalities perform their various functionsunder this all-domihating condition. I have so far modified the Denning machine that I have introduced into it the take-up device of the Bates and Cooker Patent, No. 7 32,155, and in consequence im-. 7 poseduponthe strand w res as they pass the machine is in operation; and this is char- 1 acteristic of the typical Denning machine as Well. j

Referring to Fig. I of the drawings, the machine there shown in side elevation is provided with a crimping drum 2, which seizes and crimps the otherwise finished Specification of Letters Eatent.

Serial No.

Patented May 24192L fence ,and exerts upon the strandwiresthe tension which draws them through the ma chine. F rom the crimpingdrum the finished fence is delivered. The path of delivery of the fence from the crimping drum 2 is indicated by the dotted line a, and the direction is indicated .bv arrow points. i

i I preferablyso arrange the crimping drum andthe feed of the fence to it that the fin- 1Sl16Clfence is delivered at the top of the machine (ordinarily some eight, feet from the floor) and in, a direction forwardly, from the front of the machine. This is a reversal in direction of delivery, from what is shown in the Denning patent already alluded to, No. 816,538. T'he advantage of this change in arrangement is that the reel upon'which the fenceis coiled may then be arranged in front of the machine, at a convenient inter-.

val behind the attendant who ordinarily stands facing the machine. And in suchpo- 1 sition the drum and the web of fence advancing to. the reel are directly accessible by the attendant, and he need notleave his place and walk around the machine toreach them.

Coming now to the particular construction of the reel, note is first ofiallto be made of the fact that it is provided with duplicate spools 20, '20, upon either'ofjwhjich the'advancing web of fencemay be wound. The

weboffence as ltGOIIlQS from crimplng drum 2 of the fence machine passes over suitable rollers or sheaves 21, so arranged as to. insure fortheattendant head roonnand thence over a suitable 'gu1de'roll-22, to one or the other ofjthe spools 20.

.: Reference to. the Denningflpatent will show a reel consisting of a "single spool. And the machine so equipped must in its operation be intermittent; the machine must stop and remain at rest'while a spool upon which a length @of fence has been coiled is removed and "replaced ,byyanotherj empty spool. By using two spools, it s necessary to interrupt the continuous 'operat ion of the machine long enough only to cut away from the filled spool the contlnuous web advancing from the machinev and to secure the severed end to the empty spool standing ready.

Then, as the operation proceeds, the filled spool includes a core composed of two semicylindrical parts capable of being expanded and collapsed again to serve two purposes: first, to removably secure the core in its heads or end-pieces; and, second, to permit of retraction of the core from the roll of fence built up upon it. It is the core portion of the spool only which in this instance is removable, to accomplish the ends described above. Spools of this construction are well known, and no further description of them is requisite. Y l

The spools when in operation are of course positively rotated, and, to the end that each in turn may be stopped and started at the will of the operator, I have invented a clutch mechanism which I shall now particularly describe. The shafts 23 of the spools 20 carry each a sleeve member 24: which, but for the clutch mechanism, turns idly upon it. The two sleeves are connected to turn in unison, by means of a belt 25 traveling on suitable pulleys with which the two sleeves are equipped. One of the said sleeves is further provided'with a sprocket wheel 26, through which rotation may be imparted to these two sleeves. Spring-backed clutch members 27, one splined to each of the two shafts 23, advance when released by their controlling levers 28 to make toothed contact with the sleeves 24, and, according as one clutch or the other is so closed, the corresponding spool is rotated. Thus, as will be apparent, the starting and stopping of the spools separately is a matter wholly under the control of the attendant. A tightener 29 for the belt 25 is shown, operable by the hand lever 30.

Driving power may be imparted through i' the sprocket wheel 26 from any desired sourceconveniently fromthe same source with the machine itself, for under such condition coordination of speed may be the more readily effected; furthermore, any known expedient may be resorted to, to cause the speed of turning of the spool to diminish as the coil of finished fence is built up upon it, for, of course, given a uniformly turning crimping drum, uniform speed of the surface upon which the web of fence is progressively wound, is desirable. In Fig. I of the drawings a source of power for driving the reel is indicated in a shaft 31 between which and the shaft of the reel .suitabledriving connection may be made, as by a sprocket wheel 32 and a sprocket chain 33 which as will be understood may be made to engage the sprocket wheel 26 of Fi II.

V s explained at the outset, this reel is applicable to fence machines generally. De-

tails of structure may of course be varied without departing from the invention defined in the ensuing claims. In respect to 1. In a wire-fence machme, in combination wlth machine parts delivering a web of completed fence in continuous length, a reel including a plurality of rotatable cores, re-

movable each from the reel, a source of.

power, rotation-imparting connection from said source of power to each of said cores, and means for interrupting and making continuous again at will theconnection to either of the said cores, substantially as described.

2. In a wire-fence machine, in combination with machine parts delivering a web of completed fence in continuous length a reel including two rotatable and collapsible cores, securable'in or removable from said reel according as they are in expanded or collapsed condition,'asource ofpower, rotation imparting connection from said source of power to each of saidcores, and means for mterrupting and making continuous again at will the connection to either of the said cores, substantially as described.

3. In a wire-fence machine a reel for the finished product includin shafts arranged in parallel position and mounted for rotation, a fencereceiving core removably secured to each shaft and adapted to be rotated thereby, a sleeve rotatably mounted upon each of said shafts, means for rotating said sleeves constantly and in uni son, a clutch member splined toeach of said shafts and movable longitudinallythereon to make and break driving connection with said sleeves, and means for shifting said clutch members, substantially as described.

oiv a plurality of -In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. 1

JOHN A. HOLMQUIST- WVitnesses: 1

T. M. GIRDLER,

'0. GREssBY. 

